The air in the Black Dragon Palace changed as the blindfolded dragon with five-colored scales appeared.
As the presence neared, the two candidates knelt on the spot while the youngest palace shaman shook.
As if she was used to meeting the Dragon King, or perhaps her joy suppressed the pressure, Yoon Yeorang stood upright as she greeted the Dragon King.
“It’s been a while! I wanted to see you!”
The Dragon King, with a stern and deep face, smiled faintly at her words.
The sight of the Dragon King smiling made Yoon Yeorang even happier.
Other than her, the Dragon King looked at those who performed the advent ritual and looked at me last.
When I greeted him, the Dragon King spoke.
[Hello to you too. My heart is heavy for leaving such nice children waiting for me.]
Guuung!
As the warm voice of the Dragon King spread, the Black Dragon Palace became brighter.
The monster couldn’t bear that energy and collapsed on the spot.
It shuddered from the floor and looked up at the Dragon King floating in the sky with a loathful gaze.
Since the Dragon King drew near, the monster was unable to move properly.
‘The Dragon King is keeping it in check.’
The Dragon King showed its presence to the monster without hiding.
Even if a superior being hides their presence to suppress the pressure that they give off, people can’t usually withstand it like the shaman candidates.
Despite that fact, that monster collapsed completely from the Dragon King’s pressure, a much stronger reaction than the candidates.
Keuuk, kiiiik!
The monster cried out in an inexplicable voice.
It must be wondering why it, which is close to being a superior being, cannot bear the Dragon King’s presence.
But the situation felt natural to me.
That monster only came close to being a superior being because it took the place of the Dragon King through the shamans’ betrayal.
Now that the Dragon King is back in his rightful place, it’s nothing but a monster.
Kwiiiik!
The monster squared up its huge body as if it couldn’t accept this fact.
This action didn’t pose a great threat, but its body was so big that we couldn’t sit idly.
Crushed pieces of furniture flew around as the monster wriggled.
The Dragon King rose and looked down at the monster.
[What a sham.]
The Dragon King moved first before I did.
Five-colored clouds quickly filled the ground, and whatever it touched lost strength and fell on the spot.
The debris from the monster’s rampage returned to its original position.
With the Dragon King’s power, the Black Dragon Palace was trying to find its form.
Geuuuk!
The monster saw the changing Black Dragon Palace and the five-colored clouds of the Dragon King.
It stepped back and began to run away with its last strength.
Fear now seemed to overpower its anger and humiliation.
The monster crawled away from the floor with its last force, and though it was as fast as it first appeared, it was incomparably unsightly.
[This is the Dragon Palace built for me and my children. Where are you going to run away?]
The Dragon King rose slowly and tracked the monster.
As the monster crawled and the floor, allowing it to pass through low ceilings, it escaped out of the Black Dragon Palace faster than the Dragon King.
When it came out of the main door of the palace, I saw a different kind of five-colored clouds.
They were from Imoogi’s shamans.
‘Did they send it to support the monster?’
The clouds from the shamans and from the Dragon King were similar in color, but the energy was clearly different.
The shamans’ were murky, whereas the clouds from the Dragon King were full of clear and pure energy.
Seeing the murky clouds, the monster made a sound which I wasn’t sure if it was a cheer or a scream.
Kiiiiik!
Imoogi quickly crawled, opening its eyes as it found the shamans’ clouds.
Maybe it thinks it can fight the Dragon King with that.
Looking at the monster jumping to wrap its body around the clouds, the Dragon King spoke vaguely.
[The shamans have forgotten about me.]
There was a deep sadness in the Dragon King’s voice.
The shamans should be watching since their clouds are here.
I wonder what’s on their mind upon hearing the Dragon King’s voice.
Seeing the shamans’ clouds welcome the monster though, they seem to have no regard.
Rather, they’re provoking the Dragon King.
They’re accusing him of being stupid enough to be deceived and betrayed by shamans, and perhaps an accusation of being cold-hearted because he does not give them the eternal life that they want.
[How can you forget that I’m the one who gave you that power?]
Until the last minute when he saw the power that he lent the shamans being used against him, the Dragon King couldn’t hide his sadness.
The Dragon King raised a finger and pointed at the clouds.
Even that minute movement gave off enough power to make my skin numb.
The monster rushed toward the clouds in a hurry but to no avail.
As the Dragon King moved his finger slowly, the shamans’ clouds scattered like smoke.
Fwiish…
As the clouds dispersed, I felt something bubbling under the Black Dragon Palace.
When their power to create clouds was withdrawn, the shamans couldn’t hide their agitation.
‘Did they not think of the possibility that the Dragon King will take back his power? How arrogant.’
I heard that the power to wield clouds was originally given to the shamans through the succession ceremony.
Maybe they thought it was only possible to take it back through the same process.
They underestimated the power and authority of the Dragon King.
Geuuk, geuuuk…!
The monster, which had been writhing its body futilely to catch the scattered clouds, cried out at the floor of the Black Dragon Palace.
It seemed like it was ordering the shamans to show their true strength.
However, the smanas’ powers are only borrowed.
Now that the monster has lost its temporary status of being a superior being and the Dragon King has recovered his powers from the shamans, those women only have their power as players left.
It’s impossible to exert great power to help the monster now.
Even if they joined forces, there was no way they could fight against a superior being that descended to this world.
Geuuuuu!
But the monster didn’t seem to give up yet.
It began to draw force from the shamans.
Because they ate Imoogi’s scales, the shamans couldn’t resist the monster’s actions.
Ahhhhk!
Kyaaaak!
Screams of the shamans were heard from the monster’s wide mouth.
The life and energy waves of the shamans were sucked as they cried in pain.
I could hear the monster’s mouth and the ear-painfully sharp sound from the underground of the palace.
By the time the screams stopped, the monster had risen.
It recovered much that its vitality was on par with when it first appeared, the monster taking considerable strength from the shamans.
‘Still, there’s no way it stands a chance against the Dragon King.’
I was a little worried about the effect on the Dragon King if he kept interfering with this world.
The monster may also have recognized this and made final efforts to inflict even just a little more pain on the Dragon King.
Should I fight to relieve the burden on him?
My energy waves were close to zero, so I decided to cool it down for now.
Kwakwakwakwa!
The monster kicked on the floor and rushed toward the Dragon King.
I instinctively took out the Sangbosimgeumpa and tried to actualize it, but…
Someone stood in my way.
“I will not let you desecrate the Dragon Palace any longer.”
Hwangryong’s back blocked my view, his friendly voice sounding more stringent than ever.
‘He came here faster than I expected.’
His back showed signs that the golden yellow color was being restored from the Yellow Dragon Palace.
With the advent of the Dragon King, Imoogi’s influence was gradually erased, and the dragons seemed to have recovered.
On top of that, the advent of a closely related superior being would’ve greatly increased the Dragon Clan’s ability and their recovery.
From the moment the Dragon King descended, the enemies had no chance of winning at all.
Kuguggugu!
Hwangryong moved a yellow cloud toward the monster, and the floor around him was quickly restructured.
When the yellow cloud disappeared, the monster was confined to a building isolated from us.
Hwangryong has trapped the monster.
What happened in an instant left the monster stuck, but it soon tried to break down the building and escape.
When the structure built by Hwangryong was about to crack, blue flames began to rain down on the building.
Hwaaareuk!
Cheongryong appeared in an instant and stood side by side with Hwangryong as he emitted blue flames.
It looks like Hwangryong wasn’t the only one who recovered.
“We can no longer trouble the Dragon King and our guests.”
Cheongryong didn’t hide his anger as he threw flames at the monster.
A huge flame was sucked into the building enough to swallow the giant monster at once, burning only the monster.
Blocked by the wall of the Dragon Palace, no heat, smoke, or ash even flew toward us.
The monster tried to break down the walls to escape the flames, but its skin lost its hardness, melted, and burned.
Hwangryong threw clouds, completely removing the entrance and exit to the structure.
And then, the monster’s screams were no longer heard.
Kugugugu!
A few seconds later, Hwangryong clouded the building he had just created.
When it reappeared, a huge pile of ashes remained on the floor.
When they confirmed that the monster was defeated, Hwangryong and Cheongryong slowly turned around.
The two dragons closed their eyes, held their hands together, and lifted them in front of their faces as they bowed politely.
“Greetings to the Dragon King.”
The short sentences uttered by Hwangryong and Cheongryong contained countless emotions.
The two dragons must’ve been very worried about the Dragon King, so seeing him in front of their eyes must be a great relief.
The Dragon King looked down at the two dragons with a loving face.
[Lift your head.]
After receiving their greetings, the Dragon King asked the two to look at him.
Their silent stares seemed to contain numerous conversations.
The dragons, who were just looking at each other, suddenly turned their eyes.
Where their gazes touched was the direction in which I was standing.
The Dragon King spoke softly.
[There is someone else you need to greet right now.]
He seemed to be referring to me.
Hwangryong and Cheongryong held out their hands, leaving me no opportunity to stop them.
“We pay respect to the Dragon Clan’s benefactor who saved the Dragon Palace.]
The two dragons bowed their heads at me without hesitation.
When I was about to make the two stop…
Swoosh…
The Dragon King, who had been floating in the air all along, came to the ground.
Five-colored clouds floated around, creating a scene as if the ground became the sky.
The Dragon King was standing on the same floor as me.
[Respect to the Dragon Clan’s benefactor.]
Following the two dragons, the Dragon King also bowed to me.
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